CONGAREE NATIONAL PARK

Sunday, September 21 –  It doesn't feel like fall, here in Columbia, SC, but that's why we ventured South. Today's temperatures are expected to hover in the 80’s. Nice!

We are off this morning for a hike in Congaree National Park. The 26,000 acre National Park protects the largest remaining tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States. The park contains some of the tallest trees in Eastern North America with one of the highest canopies in the world, broad bio-diversity and old-growth forest.

 

The trail map is pretty confusing. We had some trouble finding the trail we wanted to hike. As a matter of fact, we hiked the Bluff Trail (1.7 miles) first by mistake. Eventually we found the trail we were searching for, the Oakridge Trail (6.6 miles). But our confusion wasn't finished yet. Three quarters of the way around the Oakridge Trail be decided to jump over on the Weston Lake Look Trail, but got confused and headed down the River Trail (10 miles). YIKES!!!

The boardwalk leads to all trails.

 

Water tupelos dominate the landscape. They only grow where water is plentiful. The moss is an indicator of the water level from the pervious floods.

The canopy above.

We needed to watch where we were walking. The tree root system along the trail can trip a person up pretty badly.

 

Luckily, after about a mile, Marsha figured out our error, we turned around and headed back to the Oakridge Trail. By now, we were getting tired and decided to just retrace our route back to the Visitor's Center. Our calculations showed we had hiked almost 9 miles – more than we planned.

Paul really enjoys carving cypress knees. This forest is full of them, but it is against the law to remove anything from a forest.

Once again, we had the Park to ourselves. We really didn't see a soul until we were nearly back to the Visitor's Center. We enjoyed our hike, even though it was a bit confusing. We got a good workout, although we both admitted the scenery got a little repetitive after awhile.

Beauty of the morning.
 

The Visitor’s Center is closed on Sunday and Monday’s. Marsha looked on the website but couldn’t find any mention of this plant. Anyone know its name?

After returning to our truck, we headed the 30 minutes back to the campground. The temperatures were creeping into the upper 80’s by this time, so we were happy to get home. We spent the afternoon relaxing and Marsha, the never tiring tour guide, planned out activities for tomorrow.

With over 25 miles of hiking trails and 2.4 miles of boardwalk, there are many ways to explore the Congaree Wilderness.

Before you head out on your hike, be sure to check the mosquito meter…lol

We are currently in Augusta, GA. We will continue to catch you up on our Columbia, SC, adventure.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

BARNYARD RV PARK…COLUMBIA, SC

Saturday, September 20 – We hit the road early this morning, South bound on Interstate 77. We sailed through Charlotte, VA, just at the tail end of rush hour, missing most of the heavy traffic. We had planned on spending some time here but since we were delayed leaving Ohio, we'll discover this growing city another time.

We moved on to Columbia, SC, and checked into the Barnyard RV Park. This is a very nice Good Sams Discount park with paved streets, gravel sites with concrete patios and plenty of privacy space between the sites. We are in a 50 amp, full hook-up site. Site 6C to be exact.

Looking right.

Looking left.

The good news about Barnyard RV Park is Bella likes it! For some strange cat logic, Bella did not want to venture out of the 5^th wheel at our last stop. She either wasn't feeling well or was afraid of something. Who can figure out cats? We are only here to serve her....LOL.

There is a huge flea market, or Pulga for our South Texas friends, right next door. So, after getting set-up, we spent about an hour walking around looking at all the junk. Opps, I mean great bargains. Didn't find any hidden treasures, so came back to the campground and spent the afternoon relaxing outside with Bella and watching some college football.

Pond at the Barnyard RV Campground.

We are a few days behind in our posting. It is actually Monday, and we leave for Augusta, GA, tomorrow morning. We will continue to get everyone caught up on our fall adventures.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.

A STEP BACK IN TIME!

Friday, September 19 –  We made a journey back in time this morning by visiting the Virginia Tech campus. Our daughter, Carrie, graduated in 2008 and that was the last time we were in Blacksburg, VA, and on the Virginia Tech campus.

One of the entrance ways to campus.

Library

WOW! What a change a few years make. The campus, although large at the time, has grown considerably. It was a fun morning seeing familiar spots on campus and exploring new areas. We stopped at the new visitor's center to get a parking pass that allows visitors to park just about anywhere they can find a spot…not easy when one is driving a dually pickup truck...LOL.

Housing.

New Visitor Center/Admissions building.

New parking garage. Boy do they need this.

We've always thought that VT is one of the most beautiful campuses we've visited. The architecture is superbly done with Hokie (that's VT's nickname) Stone used on just about every building on campus. The campus is divided in two parts with the housing areas and sports facilities on the west side of the drill field and the educational building on the east side.

Drill field.

We started our visit on the west side remembering the fun we had attending VT football games. Of course the athletic facilities are growing. The stadium is still amazing. They were getting ready for Saturday’s game and ESPN was blasting their music over the PA system. Next door is the new field house under construction.

New field house.

We stopped at the War Memorial located at the North end of the drill field. A memorial to VT cadets killed in battle. VT has a large military cadet program. It was neat seeing all the kids hurrying across the drill field on their way to class.

On the east side of the drill field is the April 16 “We Remember” Memorial in memory of the tragedy on that date back in 2007 when 32 students lost their lives.

We then drove around the east side of the campus checking out the Engineering buildings where our daughter spent most of her time. I bet she would be amazed by so many new additions located here.

New Engineering building.

We stopped in downtown Blacksburg. Surprising how small this town is with a university of over 30,000 located here. There is a very modern shopping district just south of town on your way to Interstate 81. We did visit a couple campus bookstores but left with our wallets securely in our pockets!

The Hokie Bird takes on many different looks around town.

It was a fun morning venturing back in time. Saturday we move on down the road to our next adventure. Stop back and visit Columbia, SC with us.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!